The Shadow of Equestria
by Blazing Inferno 65
Summary: I lost my legacy, the one thing that carried me through life. I thought I had nothing left, until she saved me. So in return, I showed loyalty and did as I was told. But like all good things in life, it didn't last. So now I am alone in this place, a stranger in a foreign land, a wolf among sheep, a murderer among the pure. I'll make them fear me, I will make them fear The Shadow.
1. TSOE Chapter 1

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Prologue**

**A Look Back At**

Have you ever looked back at your life and wished that you could go back and right the wrongs that you made? That you could go back and stop yourself from saying something that causes you to lose a friend. Or that you could go back and say the right things in front of that girl you liked and actually get a date. For me, I think about that every day. How things could have been different if I had known what to do at that point? Would I have taken a different path and avoided all the conflict that I am currently involved in? Would I have made different choices about my life? Would there be something else I could be doing besides running and saving my life for one more measly day as they close in?

I can't help but think about that. How things could have been different. Things I could have done or said to stop all this violence, all this running, all of this death. But I doesn't matter now. As I write this letter, I am about to face my final opponent. I will not return and I know it. There's no point in fighting the inevitable.

I leave this letter in hopes that somebody will find it and truly know the turmoil that is my mental state. I wouldn't dare tell anybody, I would look weak. This question has plagued my mind for months now, I haven't even acknowledged it until just now. But the question is, if I could go back, would I right the wrongs?

No.

Though I question myself, I do not resent my action. I could care less what they think of me, what they call me, or what they do to me. I knew what I had to do and I did it, I did it for her like I promised I would. I will never go back on that promise and I will continue to avenge her.

It feels good to finally get this down on paper and out of my mind. I think I'll leave this at that library run by Twilight Sparkle. I know she will be sure to show this to all of her friends including the Princesses long after I am gone. So if you're reading this Celestia, I want you to know something.

I do not care what you do to me. You will never be able to fix what I have done no matter what you do or how hard you try. I did it because I promised that I would help her. She gave me purpose and I gave her my loyalty. Your Royal Guard was unable to stop what I did, even the regal royal sisters could not stop me. In the end, I was the one to end it all, not you, not your sister, not Shining Armor, not even the Element. I made the choice to find you and face you.

At that point you should have realized that your best was not good enough, it never will be.

-Zhane

* * *

I finished the letter and sat back in the chair I was currently sitting in. It had taken me a good two hours to write that damn letter. That was evident by the amount of crumbled up parchment paper that was laying in a pile right next to me. I didn't know it was going to be so hard to write that letter even though it was meant for the Princesses. I guess it's harder to write for someone that you hate rather than a loved one. I set down the quill that I had in my hand and looked out the window to my right. The sun had just begun to rise and with it dawned a new day.

I sighed, I didn't want to do this but if I didn't, they would continue to pursue me. Constantly chasing me until I get too tired to run anymore. I wasn't going out like that, too tired to defend myself. I wanted to go out like a man, to die fighting.

I looked back out the window, the dawn of this new day meant that I didn't have much time left until I had to confront them. I to find something to to till then but what? I looked back at the letter I had written and an idea pushed itself into my head. I immediately sprung up from the chair and looked around the crude-looking cabin I was currently held up in. I found some extra ink and a large stack of parchment paper. I knew what I was going to do till it was time, I was going to tell my story, from the very beginning to the end in excruciating detail.

I set the extra ink to my left side next to my quill and placed the stack of parchment to my right. There was more then enough there to fully capture every detail of my story. I slowly pulled the top sheet off the stack and placed it in front of me. I grabbed my quill, dipped the tip in the nearest inkwell and brought the tip of the quill to the parchment paper. Very neatly, I wrote the title.

**The Shadow of Equestria**

As I looked at the page, I noticed that the title took up most of the parchment paper. It looked good, almost as if I were writing a book that was going to be published. I laughed at my thought of professionalism, it's not like they'd read it anyway. I guess I was writing it for the sake of having it written down. I looked at the bottom of the paper and dipped my quill back in the inkwell.

**By:**

**Zhane Black**

I pushed the now complete title page over to the side and pulled another piece of parchment paper off of the stack. I paused momentarily before I began to write my story. The story about The Shadow of Equestria.

* * *

**I am very excited to begin writing this story. Firstly, it will be the only first person story I have done up until this point. Secondly, I really like the idea of this story and the way I have the plot written down. This is just a little teaser until I actually start the story in the middle of Summer.**

** Enjoy!**


	2. Simple Begininngs

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Chapter 1**

**Simple beginnings**

If I were to walk up to someone and tell them that I used to be normal, they would laugh. I know it's hard to believe but for a short part of my childhood, I was the most innocent, carefree, normal child on the face of the planet. I spent my days roaming the woods with my two brothers and spend the nights gazing at the stars as the night sky showed me wondrous things. Out of the two, the latter was my favorite thing to do. Something about nighttime just mystified me. Anyways, I was young, probably somewhere around ten or eleven years old. My brothers were both a year older so I was the youngest. I always looked up to them because they always did the right thing. They never fought, bickered, or argued. It was like they were in perfect harmony with each other and oh how I strived to be like them. Perfect in every way. But you know what they say, good things never last.

We were sitting in the living room relaxing from a long day. My parents were watching the news while my brothers and I were keeping ourselves entertained. Suddenly, the television switched from the boring news channel to another. I thought it was nothing at first but when my father told me to quiet down, I knew it was important.

"**We have some very important news ladies and gentlemen. The Black brothers, also known as "The Shadows", have claimed another life in the past week. This will now put the official death toll at 23. If you have any information that would help in the capture of these two killers please contact your local sheriff's office."**

A picture popped up on the screen of the television and to this day I would never forget the looks both of those men had in their eyes. They looked crazed, like they would love nothing less than to see your blood slowly staining the floor. The picture went away and the news man came back on.

"**If you see either of these men, please keep your distance. They are both psychotic killers and will take action against you if you so much as look at them wrongly. If you do see them, contact the police and wait for them to arrive. Thank you for tuning in tonight."**

My father turned the television off and looked towards us.

"I think it's time for bed boys, you've had a long day."

We obeyed and went to bed. I admit, I was worried and scared that the Black brothers would get us too but in the back of my mind, I knew that would never happen. I remember closing my eyes with a smile on my face.

* * *

I was awaked from my slumber by a loud thump. I sat up and looked around the room, catching the sight of my brothers who had also been awoken. I was both curious and terrified at what that thump was, in my mind, something came up that caused a chill to run down my spine. The Black brothers. Suddenly there was another thump and then silence, eerie silence. Then out of nowhere, the sound of someone coming up the steps echoed throughout the house. I panicked and placed myself in the corner of the room. My brothers however, found the courage to approach the door and open it slowly as I watched from the corner. That's when I saw those eyes.

There were two pair of them and they were both staring at my brothers with the same crazed intent as the Black brothers. I silently let out a gasp as I realized that the thing that I thought would not happen had happened. There in the doorway of the room, stood the Black brothers in all of their murderous glory. They were tall and covered in long trench coats. I tried to see more of their face but it was covered by some sort of cloth.

"Brother, I thought that you said they didn't have any children." said one of the men.

"It doesn't matter, let's kill them and get out of here." said the other one.

"No brother, let's have some fun and I think that other child in the corner can help us."

My eyes widened, my feet froze, and my breathing halted. I had no idea what to do. My decision was made for me when one of the men took out something shiny and pointed it towards my older brothers.

"Come on out or you can kiss these two goodbye."

I remained frozen until I looked over at my brothers. Both of them had the same look as me, scared and panicked. Their eyes screamed help me as they looked at me. I swallowed my fear and stepped out of my corner.

"Ah, there he is. Now come over here, we want to play a little game."

I slowly made my way out of the corner and began to approach the man. As I got closer, he grabbed me and turned me towards my brothers. He then proceeded to show me the shiny thing he pointed at them earlier.

"This little beauty is called a gun and it was designed to kill people. It will be the thing you use to play this game."

The other man took out another gun and pointed at me.

"Here's the rules, I'm going to give you this and you're going to shoot your brothers."

As he said that, the man put his index finger to his head and made a POW sound.

"However, if you don't have the balls to do so, my brother here will shot your brothers while I kill you with my bare hands

The man placed the gun in my hands and looked at his wrist.

"I'll give you three minutes to decide what you're going to do."

The rest is a blur, even when I try, I can barely remember what happened afterward. However, since I'm still alive, it seems pretty obvious what choice I made.

The next thing that I remember was waking up in a bed, but it wasn't mine. I was in a plain looking room that lacked furniture apart from the bed and a small chair across the room which was currently occupied by a man. This man took notice to me as I awoke and greeted me.

"Ah, you're awake, I thought you would stay asleep forever." said the man as he stood up from the chair.

"Where am I?" I asked as I sat up in the bed.

"You're in the Henborrow Orphanage."

The man paused as he looked me over me. I could see the pity in his eyes.

"Do... do you know what happened son?" he asked.

I remembered that night very clearly, it was something that I never wanted to relive but I kept thinking about it.

"No." I lied. "What happened?"

The man sighed and offered a hand to me.

"Let's take a little walk, I'll tell you once we reach where we're going."

I took the man's hand and was slowly pulled out of the bed. The man let go and motioned me to follow. We left the room and entered a hallway full of doors. The man turned right and led me down the long hallway and up a flight of stair. We came upon a door with a glazed glass window that read "Graham Winthrop." He opened the door to reveal an office decorated with war metals and military propaganda. On the far end sat a desk and opposite of that was a chair. The man who I had assumed was Graham Winthrop motioned me to sit in the chair as he sat down at the desk.

"Now." he said as he sat up straight. "I have some very unsettling news for you. I'm afraid that your family... they were murdered two days ago. When the police had arrived at the scene, they found your family dead and you. You were unconscious and sent to the hospital for examination. Once you were cleared, you were sent here to Henborrow. Do you understand?"

I didn't answer; in fact I wasn't even listening. I knew what had happened, I wasn't stupid. Why else would I be in an orphanage.

"Hello, you in there boy?" asked Mr. Winthrop as he got my attention.

"I heard you loud and clear Mr. Winthrop." I said as I looked him in the eyes

"Smart too." Mr. Winthrop said under his breath. "Please, call me Graham."

I nodded and let Graham continue.

"Alright, with the bad news out of the way, I need to tell you two things. One, I was in the military for a good portion of my life so I like to support our military. To do that, I give everyone that passes through this orphanage a choice. The choice being once they finish high school they can either go and try to find some way to pay for college or they can join the military. You'll have the same choice Zhane and considering how young you are, you have all the time in the world to decide."

Graham paused before continuing.

"Two, when you arrived at the orphanage, the police came by and told us that it would be best if we changed your name. It's only a precaution just in case "The Shadows" want to come back and... I think you know what I'm getting at here. Lucky for you, it's safe for you to keep your first name but your last name has to go.

"So." Graham said as he began to write on a piece of paper. "What do you want your last name to be? Please try and keep it on a reasonable level."

I thought and thought but nothing would come up. I tried of name after name with no luck. Finally, that damned memory decided to pop back into my head. Those psychopathic killers with their dead stares, The Black brothers.

"Black" I said. "Zhane Black."

I was horrified with myself. I had just decided to take the same last name as the two men that killed my family. Graham didn't even object, he just looked at me for a second and nodded his head like he thought nothing of it.

"It is now set in stone." he said as he punctuated his words with his writing and the click of the pen he was using.

"Alright, everything is set. Your room is the same one you woke up in. You will be supplied with the basic necessities but if you want to decorate your room, you'll have to pay for that yourself."

"Yes sir." I said.

"Good, now I bet you're hungry, let's get you some food."

* * *

I spent a good seven years in that orphanage, the first year was... difficult for me. I wasn't much of a people person, my brothers were. Now I was all alone, my only friend being Graham. The first year ended and the second came up. Then the third and fourth and so on. As I aged, I developed different kind of mindset, I hated other people. They were too nosy, fucking stupid, or just plain annoying. I hated every aspect of our society and tried to seclude myself from it. I usually did this by staying in my room most of the time. However, when I did this, Graham would always find out and he'd always pull me out of my sanctuary and into the blight that is our society.

Other than my...unique mindset, nothing interesting ever happened in that orphanage. Except for one particular time that thrusted me into my current occupation.

My clock beside my bed read 5:00 AM, the time that I liked to get up at. Most of the other kids at the orphanage weren't up yet, so I cherished this time. Absolute silence, time to think and plan my day. I collected the clothes that I was going to wear that day and opened my door slightly. I looked down the hallway to make sure no one was there. I did this anytime I had to leave my sanctuary, it was a daily practice.

Once I was sure the hallway was empty, I shot across the hall to the bathroom on the other side. Once inside, I locked the door and turned the water on. I quickly got in the shower, clean myself, and got out. I never liked to spend too long in that shower just in case someone were to wake up. I got dressed and poked my head back out of the bathroom door. Once I had determined it was clear, I shot across the hall and back to my sanctuary.

I closed the door and let out a long sigh, it felt good to back in my room once more. As I looked around my barely lit room and noticed something sitting on my bed. I approached it and saw some clothes with a letter attached to it. It read

Put these on and met me at the front door, we're going to have some fun!

-Graham

I put the note to the side and examined the clothes. It was a long sleeved camouflaged shirt with matching pants and a pair of heavy boots. I moaned in annoyance as I took off the clothes that I had already put on and began to don the camouflage. Once I had them on, I looked out into the hallway and slowly made my way to the front door of the orphanage. As I approached the door, I saw Graham waiting there like the note said.

"You're looking sharp son, almost as good as me, ALMOST." Graham joked.

"What exactly are we going to do?" I asked as I noticed that Graham was wearing camouflage as well.

"We're going to pit ourselves against nature in a game of wits. We're going to do something every boy must do to become a man. We're going to use our instincts and cunning to outsmart the beasts of the wild."

"I'm afraid I'm not following Graham." I said I looked at him plainly.

"We're going hunting." he said

"What is the point of this activity?" I asked.

Graham sighed. "If it makes a difference, no one will be there; it'll be just the two of us."

I looked away briefly and nodded. "Alright, let's go."

We then exited the orphanage and got in Graham's truck. Once inside, He started the truck and we went down the road. About fifteen minutes into the car ride, Graham spoke up.

"So, you're about to finish your last year of high school. Have you made up your mind about your choice?"

I shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought."

"I think you would make a damn good soldier." Graham said proudly. "You're smart and you're fit, which I don't understand because you spend all of your time in your room."

"I guess we'll see when the time comes." I said.

It was silent for the rest of the car trip. Once we reached the spot where we were going hunting, Graham stopped his truck and told me we were here. I got out of the truck and followed Graham to the back. Once there, he handed me three things, ear plugs, an orange vest, and a rifle.

"Alright, be sure your wearing those ear plugs and that orange vest before we head out."

"Why do I need the vest?" I asked as I put them on.

"The orange will help me see you in the thick trees. It's just a precaution to prevent hunting accidents."

I nodded and continued to listen. Graham was now holding one of the rifles.

"This little beauty shoots a .308 caliber, more than enough to take down a deer."

I watched as Graham walked me through how to load the gun, how to hold it, and how to switch the safety on and off. After I got the basics, Graham took me out into the woods and pointed up a nearby tree.

"You see that tree stand up there?" he asked.

I looked over to the tree and saw a metal ladder leading to a raised metal chair on a platform.

"Yeah." I said as I nodded.

"That stand will give you a great look over the woods. I'm going to go sit in one that's close-by. You see a deer, you shoot it. If I hear a shot, I'll get out of my stand and come help you look for what you shot."

I nodded and watched as Graham walked off into the woods. I then looked to the ladder and started to climb. I got to the top and sat in the chair. I sat in that chair for a good hour and almost decided to give up but I heard a rustling in the woods in front of me. I watched intently as a large buck walked out of the foliage and stopped right in front of me.

I slowly raised my rifle and looked through the scope. I clicked the safety off and aimed at the deer. My heart began to beat faster and faster and my vision narrowed. My finger started to slowly pull the trigger back, inch by inch, until a loud boom followed by a hard kick came from the gun. Once I was able to steady the gun, I saw that the buck was just lying there. I felt a rush of adrenaline and quickly climbed out of the tree stand and ran towards the motionless deer.

As I approached, I could smell the bitter scent of blood in the air. It excited me for some reason. The fact that I had the power to do something like that was invigorating. I heard another rustle behind me and saw Graham walking towards me.

"I'll be damned, you actually killed one, a good one at that." said Graham as he bent down to examine the body.

I frowned, the sensation I was feeling had gone away. It was the best feeling in the world and it only lasted for a few moments. I had to feel it again, it was like a drug, and it was addictive. But the only living thing around me at the time was Graham. My mind was conflicted, Graham had been my friend for most of my life but that feeling was amazing and I wanted to experience it again. Finally, I made up my mind; I lifted the rifle and aimed it at Graham. That day, I discovered the feeling of killing, thanks to my dear friend Graham.

* * *

I moved around for a year after that. I was living off the money that I saved up over my younger years. I never really finished school and therefor never made my choice about going into the military. It didn't really matter to me; the only thing that did matter was getting to feel that wonderful sensation again. From time to time, I would go into the forest and hunt. Although I felt the sensation I wanted, it wasn't the same as the sensation I felt when I killed Graham. Speaking of him, the police never found his body or his truck. I covered up his body so well; they would probably mistake it for mine. They never found me either, they gave up on the search about two months in. I laughed at their stupidity; it just goes to show you what my society had come to. After some time and several more visits to the forest, a national newspaper article from a month ago, that I somehow missed, caught my attention.

"**At 10 o'clock this morning, the trail of the infamous Black brothers has come to an outrageous conclusion. Both Lewis and Ashton Black were found innocent of their murder of 56 innocent citizens under pleas of insanity. They were tried again for the suspected murder of Zhane Howell. As a boy, Zhane survived meeting these two psychotic brothers but was left without his family after the encounter. He went missing almost one year ago and when police went searching, they had found a burnt corpse that matched Zhane's description. Due to a lack of evidence, all charges were dropped against the two. However, because of their insanity plea, the brothers have been sent to an asylum for the criminally insane in northern Montana."**

This article both enraged me and humored me at the same time. For one, they thought that Graham's body was my own and secondly, I had done very little to the corpse. I was mad because the article had brought up memories that I would have rather kept repressed. I did a little more digging and found the name and address of the asylum that now held the Black brothers. With some careful planning and a few needed objects, I was ready to finally meet "The Shadows" after eight long years.

* * *

I was happy about my plan so far, it involved another killing. I needed a state trooper's car for my plan to work out so I got the attention of one, had my moment of euphoria, and took his clothes and car. The perfect plan, so far. As I approached the front gate, the guard stopped me.

"I'm sorry officer; this is a restricted area only accessible by government employees."

I had to think up something quick, literally anything would do in this situation.

"Well I have orders from my headquarters to talk to the Black brothers. We recently found a decomposing body of a fellow state trooper that has "The Shadows" written all over it." I said as I congratulated myself on that excellent lie.

The officer looked around momentarily and rested his arms on the windowsill of the driver's side.

"You think that this will get them out of this asylum?" he asked in a nonchalant voice.

"We actually have the evidence and if what I can get out of them is important, they'll be locked up for life."

The officer nodded slowly and motioned me forward.

"Once inside, tell the secretary what you're doing here and she'll take you to those two pieces of shit."

"Thank you kindly, I'll be sure they never see the light of day again." I said as I drove away from the front gate and parked. "Fucking idiot." I laughed as I got out of the car and walked into the building. Once inside, I immediately noticed the secretary and approached her.

"Good day ma'am, my name's Sgt. Nathan Stewart, I'm with the Montana State Troopers. We have recently found evidence that would finally lock the Black brothers behind bars. I need to talk to them immediately."

The secretary looked at me and smiled widely.

"Thank god, I was hoping they would get another trail. They're in the main room, just go around the corner and it's the first room to your right. I'll buzz you in."

"Much obliged ma'am." I said as I left the secretary and walked down the hall to the main room.

Once I reached the door, I found it unlocked. Inside the room were about fourteen or fifteen people in white clothes that somewhat resembled pajamas. An officer to the side got my attention and pointed me to the back corner of the room. I could make out two men sitting at a small table playing chess. I thanked the officer and headed over to the table. As I approached, the two brothers looked up from their game and chuckled slightly.

"Looks like we have another law dog that's come here to visit us brother." the one on the left laughed.

I ignored his comment and pulled up a chair. I sat down and looked at the two. I looked back into the eyes of my nightmare fuel for some many years. I had to gather up the courage to talk to them. I removed my hat and sunglasses and looked at the two brothers.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me. So let me give you a reminder. I think your words were "Now come on over here, we want to play a little game. Here's the rules: you shot your brothers and you live or you don't and you all die."

The two brothers looked towards each other and smiled.

"Well if it isn't little Zhane Howell. Tell me, how are you still alive?" asked one of the brothers.

I laughed lightly. "What makes you think that was my body?" I asked.

One of the brothers looked closely at my now revealed face and smiled.

"I can see it in your eyes Zhane; you've felt the marvelous sensation that is taking another life."

The other brother smiled and laughed lightly. "Then I understand why you are still alive. You killed somebody, charred their body beyond recognition, and planted your DNA on the corpse so it looked like you were murdered."

My eyes widened slightly. "How were you able to figure that out?" I asked.

"Great minds think alike Zhane." said the other brother.

The brothers paused and went back to their game.

"The chess game has continued Zhane and both knights have been taken out of play. It would seem that the game is almost over and the victor decided. But, there are some people that would like to see the game continue for a long time. So there are piece that can take the place of the knights and continue for them."

One of the brothers began to move a pawn up the board.

"The pawn, one of the most useless and looked down upon pieces. However, with the right direction, this piece will replace its fallen comrades."

The brother's pawn finally reached the other side and replaced the pawn with another knight.

"Now this pawn can avenge the knights and live on for them."

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly, one grabbed a sheet of paper and started to write something down. The other brother looked at me.

"Like I said Zhane, the knights are out of action and a pawn is needed to replace them." The other brother finished writing on the paper and handed it to Zhane.

"On that sheet of paper is an address. At that address is a large red barn. There you will find all the things you need. But here's the question Zhane, is the pawn ready to succeed the knights? We can see it in your eyes Zhane, you may have only killed a couple times but you love it, it's easy to see. All we want is for someone to continue where we left off, we want someone to pick the title of "The Shadow" up and continue in its name."

The other brother spoke up.

"This society is disgusting and corrupt. The citizens are no better than the criminals they lock away. We served as the judge, jury, and executioner for these slobs called U.S citizens. Now that you know, are you willing?"

I sat there and thought for what seemed to be an eternity. At first, I was angry to see them but as we talked, I became more and more intrigued. I should have been a little more hostile towards them; they were the ones that killed my family. The question now was if I would continue their work. If I would pick up the mantle of "The Shadow" and work in their name. I went over the cons first. There was only one I could think of and that was getting caught like the Black brothers. Other than that, the pros heavily outweighed the cons.

I pulled myself out of my mental dilemma and looked at the brothers.

"What makes you think that I'll do this? You were the ones that killed my family and honestly, I would love nothing more than to end both of your miserable lives."

The brother on the left of Zhane frowned.

"That's the reason we want you to help us Zhane. Not everyone can kill like we can; it takes a certain mindset to do what we did. But, when I looked in your eyes, I could see a man that enjoyed what he did. Though we did kill your family Zhane, we left you alive and that's all that matters at this point. The past is the past, let it go."

This statement put me into another dilemma. I was happy about what I did but I hated the Black brothers for making me this way. Although I hated them, the Black brothers had some truth in their words. To top it all off, replacing them as "The Shadow" will allow me to feel the ultimate pleasure of killing another human being, hunting the most dangerous game. SO I looked at the brothers and nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it."

The brothers smiled and looked back to their chess game.

"Just follow that address, everything you need is there. We will be watching to see what you do with this newly found title." said one of the brothers.

With that, I could feel that the conversation had ended. I got up from the table and began to walk out of the main room. Before exiting, I stopped at the secretary's desk.

"I have everything I need, thank you for your cooperation ma'am."

"Anytime." she said.

I quickly exited and climbed back into the police car. I made my way away from the asylum and stopped in the middle of the road to check the paper. It was folded multiple times and inside of the paper was some neatly written hand writing. It had an address, some small town in Kansas. I closed the paper and put it into my pocket; I knew where I was going. Soon, I ditched the State Troopers car, got myself a new ride, and began my trip to Kansas.

* * *

It was a long trip, took me nearly 18 hours to get to that small Kansas town. It also took about two hours to find the damn address but I eventually found it. It was as they said, a large, red barn complete with a silo and everything. It was literally the only building for miles and to get there you had to take a bunch of back roads. It was a real pain. I got out of the car I had stolen, approached the barn, and pulled the large red doors open. As soon as the darkness inside was illuminated, it was wondrous to see what was inside. The inside was littered with newspaper articles and reports on the Black brothers. They seemed to have an unhealthy satisfaction with seeing the outcome of their work.

I went further into the barn to find a desk, a locker, and a storage bin. I carefully approached the locker first and opened it. Inside were two guns but not just any two guns, there were the guns used by the Black brothers. I pulled them both out carefully and inspected them. Both guns were ones that I recognized, they were the same ones they used that night they came to visit my family. These are those shiny objects that they used, the one I used. I flipped the gun over to reveal that they had a name etched on each gun. The left one had the name "Lewis" etched on it while the other had "Ashton" etched on it.

Besides the guns, the locker was full of. 45 ammo. I pulled all of the ammo out of the locker and laid it on the desk. Once it was empty, I closed it and moved on to the storage bin. I opened it to reveal several trench coats, similar to ones the Black brothers wore. I laughed, they weren't kidding when they said they wanted me to be "The Shadow" in their place. I pulled the coats out of the chest and placed them on the desk next to the two guns. Now it was time to check the desk. It had four drawers, two on each side. So I opened the top left, there was nothing in it except for several pencils. I opened the one below the first. It too had nothing in it.

I moved on to the top drawer on the other side, there was actually something in this one. Inside were several push daggers, a fall back in case the guns were to fail. I counted four in total and put them on the desk with the other stuff. Now only one drawer remained, so I opened it and to my surprise there was something inside. I pulled it out of the drawer to get a better look at it. It was a crudely made book. The spine was nonexistent, the stitching that held the books in place was worn looking yarn, and the pages themselves look old. I opened the book to see a name at the top.

"Nathaniel Greene, 1875"

Under that there was another date.

"1902"

Under that there was a list of names that seemed to go in alphabetical order. I counted a total of 34 names. I turned the page and saw another name.

"Andrew Rickett, 1905"

"1916"

With that name, there were 24 names. I flipped the page and saw the same thing over and over. It was a name, a year, another year, and more names. None of it made any sense until I turned to the latest page. This page read,

"Lewis and Ashton Black, 1996"

The spot where the second year was supposed to be was empty. However, the names were still there so I began to go down the list. About halfway down I stopped on four familiar names.

"Ethan Howell"

"Jane Howell"

"Andy Howell"

"Carson Howell"

It was the names of my family and once I saw my families' names on that list, I realized what it was, it was a record book. I understood now, there was a reason that they gave me the address, the reason they want me to be "The Shadow" in their place. Because they weren't "The Shadow", the man before them was "The Shadow", and the man after him was the same. "The Shadow" wasn't a single person; it was a group of people that were dedicated to making the memory live on.

I set the book down on the desk and grabbed one of the pencils out of the top drawer. At the top, under their name I wrote the current year "2013". I quickly flipped the page and began to write my name.

"Zhane Black, 2013"

I slammed the book shut and put it back in its drawer. It was now official; I was now "The Shadow".

* * *

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**Several weeks later.**

Two black vans pull up to that small asylum for the criminally insane in northern Montana. Out of the two vans came seven men dressed in black suits and one well-dressed man. Slowly, as a group, they walked to the entrance of the asylum. Once inside, the well-dressed man began to speak.

"I want two of you to check the video archives for evidence of this guy. I want another two to ask around to see if anybody knows anything. The last three are with me."

As the well-dressed man completed the order, the group split just as he ordered. Two went for the video archives, two started to question the staff, and the last three stayed with him as he walked through the door and into the main room of the asylum. He looked around and found who he was looking for, two men playing a game of chess in the corner of the room. The well-dressed man signaled his men to wait as he approached the two playing chess.

As the man approached, one of the men noticed him and spoke first.

"Looks like Agent Warren has come to visit his trophies brother." said one of the brothers.

"Shut the fuck up Ashton." replied Warren. "I have half of the FBI on my ass because someone else is killing in your name. You're going to tell me who this guy is before I have both of your asses tossed in prison where you two belong."

"Why would we tell you anything Warren, we simply made sure that "The Shadow" would live on." said Lewis as he mouth curled into a smile.

"This can go two ways Lewis, you can help me or I can beat the information out of you. Either way, I will find this guy and put a bullet between his eyes and after I'm done with him, I'm coming for you two."

"There has been many of us Agent Warren, if you kill him, you'll just rise another in his place." chuckled Lewis.

"I know good and well about the legacy of "The Shadow" and you know what, I'll make sure it ends with this guy."

Ashton looked over to Agent Warren.

"Just when you think you have cornered him, he will slip from your grasp. It is your nature to fail."

Agent Warren began to redden as his anger against the two brothers was rising. Before he could do anything, one of his men burst through the doors of the main area.

"Sir, we got something!" he yelled.

Agent Warren looked backed to the brothers and sneered before leaving the room. He exited the main room and followed his colleague to the video archives.

Back in the main room, the Black brothers looked at each other with a wicked smile.

"He's done well in the past couple weeks. He's even managed to get the FBI's attention already. He is proving to be a worthy successor to "The Shadow." said Lewis.

"Let us not get our hopes up too high brother, it's only a matter of time till he slips up." said Ashton.

"Let's just hope that won't happen for a long time." said Lewis as the two began to play chess again.

Inside the video archives, Agent Warren was carefully watching as a State Trooper car suspiciously made a visit to the asylum.

"What the fuck am I watching?" asked Warren in a rather rude manner.

"This tape was recorded three weeks ago." began the man showing him the tape. "If you look closely, you can see the car's numbers. Once I ran these numbers, I found out that it belonged to an officer that was found dead on the side of a major highway."

The man typed on the keyboard and another video popped up of the same officer conversing with the Black brothers. The man fast forwarded the tape and stopped it. He pointed at the screen.

"Look right there, tell me what you see?" he asked.

Warren looked at the screen for several moments before discerning what it was.

"It looks like a note or letter of some kind." Warren said as he came to a sudden realization. "Get a still frame of that man's face." he said.

The man fast forwarded until the man in the video started to walk away. The man operating stopped the video and zoomed in on his face while cleaning the image as best as he could. The man stopped as the face came into view.

"Analyze his face and run it through the citizen database, I want results as quickly as possible. I want to make sure that "The Shadow" is gone for good this time."

"Yes sir." said the man operating the video system as he began to do as he was told.

* * *

That first month as "The Shadow" was amazing. I was truly happy for one time in my damn life. I finally found something I could enjoy but that one news article was enough to ruin it all. I was walking the back streets of some city looking for some way of entertaining myself when fate suddenly decided it was time to ruin my day. A newspaper blew right in front of me and stopped. I would have ignored it but something on the paper caught my eyes. I picked up the paper and began to read.

"**The Shadow revealed"**

**Earlier today, the FBI released a statement about "The Shadow". In this statement, it was revealed that the copycat killer known that took the name "The Shadow" is a man named Zhane Black, but wait, it gets better. The FBI went a bit further; they revealed that Zhane's last name wasn't Black as originally thought. His real name is actually Zhane Howell, the only survivor of the Black brother's many murders. In an interview with one Agent Warren of the FBI, he stated that he will stop at nothing to stop Zhane and put an end to his murderous rampage. Agent Warren also said this, "We are already tracking Zhane's activities across the country and are currently looking for him."**

**Zhane is 6'3 with black hair and hazel eyes. He normally wears a large black trench coat, gloves, and a hood or mask to conceal his face. If you see him, do not approach him. He is extremely dangerous and well-armed. If you do see him, keep a distance and contact your local sheriff's office.**

I can't accurately explain my anger after I read that article. Out of that anger came determination, a determination to keep doing what I loved. I told myself that day that I would keep going even though they knew who I was and I did. I kept killing for two more years. Over that time, I was living up to the title of "The Shadow". I was doing things that would seem impossible to an average human. I was an actual shadow, always right under their noses and always gone without a trace. But, I slipped up every once and a while, giving Agent Warren and his goons another step up on me. None of those slip ups were like the one I had on that fateful night. The night when I was found.

I had been laying low for the last month after killing some old broad in the city and I decided to get myself a hotel room.

That was slip up number one.

I found a small hotel and rented myself a room. The only problem was that I was in my trench coat, the one that the cops always tell citizens to look out for.

That was slip up number two.

After I paid for the room, I immediately went up to it and fell asleep without realizing my earlier mistakes.

And that was slip up number three, ding ding ding, someone give this dumbass a prize.

Well I got a prize alright; I got to wake up to the sound of a helicopter flying around the hotel. I shot up and looked out of the shaded window. Down in the parking lot I saw dozens of police cars, several SWAT vans, and Agent Warren with a stupid fucking grin on his face. He looked up at the hotel before motioning to someone behind him. Once I saw the black attire of the SWAT team, I made sure I had everything and bolted out of my room. I ran for the stairs but stopped halfway when I heard the SWAT team making their way up. I panicked, frozen in place as I thought of what to do. All it took was a couple of bullets from the SWAT team to get me moving. I turned around and began to run back down the hall. I looked back to see that the SWAT team sent by Warren were hot on my tail. So I pulled out Lewis and Ashton, my guns, and began to unload on them as I ran.

I fired several times and looked back to see that my shots were doing nothing. The SWAT's protective clothing was blocking my bullets. I cursed silently as I neared the end of the hallway. The only thing in front of me was a window, followed by a 25 foot plummet to the ground. I turned to see the SWAT as they began to close in on me. I looked back to the window; it was my only escape, so I did what I had to and shot the window out. I then ran as fast as I could and jumped out of the window. The next few moments were what I could describe as pain, pure pain. I landed to the sound of a crunch, a very sickening crunch. It felt like my chest was on fire as I breathed in and out. It felt like someone had pushed a hot knife into my lung. I coughed several times, much to my dismay, and felt the warm trickle of blood in my lips. I wasn't going to die like that, broken and defeated. If I was going to bite it, I wanted to give them a run for their money.

So, in a rush of adrenaline, I pushed myself up and began to hobble away. In front of me was a forest, the perfect spot to hide from those pigs. I began to make my way to the forest and didn't stop until I was as far as my body would take me. I lowered myself against a tree and sighed deeply. It was probably the end for me, the end of my joy, the end of my satisfaction, the end of "The Shadow". I closed my eyes, I hoped that my injuries from the fall would kill me before Warren got to but like most of my life, my hopes were crushed. I heard the sound of shuffling in front of me followed by the sound of a pistol being cocked back. I weakly opened my eyes to see a grinning Agent Warren as he held his pistol to my head.

"After all this time I finally caught up with you Zhane. I have to admit, you caused more trouble and panic in two years than the Black brothers did in seventeen, but now it ends. Any last words Zhane?"

I smiled and weakly said "How does it feel to know that your best was not good enough to stop people from dying?"

I got the pleasure of seeing Warren's face go red one more time before there was a loud sound, followed by a bright flash, followed by darkness.

* * *

**How is everypony doing this fine day? I hope everypony out there had a fantastic summer. Anyways, as you can see, my new story is making its debut today. After much consideration and a lot of planning, I decided to prewrite most of the story over the summer and release it now. So, let me give you guys some details.**

**Alright, first things first, you'll notice that this story is in first person. I am writing this story in a style of writing that is basically our main character writing a story of his life. If you're still confused, go to the prologue of this story and read carefully. **

**Next on the list is something minor. At key points, were I see fit, the story will switch its style of writing. I will write about certain interactions that Zhane wouldn't possibly know about. I am doing this to add some depth and variety to this story. I will do my best to indicate when I do this with a special line break like this**

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**Next is that this story is following the show but only in places I need it to. This whole story won't revolve around just the main characters and their exploits. I plan on this story revealing more of Equestria while staying in line with the show. After the next chapter goes up, I will post a lists of episodes that our main character will be involved in on my tumblr. I you would like to see that, go to my profile and click the link.**

**Next is the story schedule. I will release on every Monday unless I give everypony a heads up before hand. **

**Lastly is the length. I do not plan for this story to be as long as The Royal Protector is. If I could give everpony a rough estimate, I would say this story would be about 75,000 - 80,000 words max. I might pass that but we will see.**

**Whew, that was a lot to type. I hope you enjoy this new adventure and please feel free to comment or review. See everypony next Monday!**


	3. The Dark Queen

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Chapter 2**

**The Dark Queen**

The only thing I could see was darkness. The only thing I could hear was nothing. The only thing I could smell was death. I was dead, The Shadow had finally been stopped, the legacy ended in one careless mistake. It made me angry and if I could have moved or yelled, I would have screamed and hit the ground in anger. However, I couldn't move, I couldn't even think straight. I was too unsettled. I mentally sighed, if this was death then death sucked. Where was Heaven and Hell? Where is my family? Where is the Grim Reaper?

If death was an eternal blackness, then I would go insane in no time. A sudden wave of realization hit me; maybe I was already in Hell. This was probably my eternal punishment, the one those Christians preached about. If so, where was Satan? I'm sure he would love to thank me for all the people I killed, all the chaos I caused. Sadly, I wanted that to happen instead of rotting in that damned blackness. I began to mentally freak-out. I didn't want this; I would rather choose fiery damnation than this.

_'Oh God, get me the fuck out of here_!' I yelled mentally as I tried to move. The darkness was not letting up though and I was constantly stopped from moving by some unseen force.

_'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Get me out of here! I don't even know how long I've been in here and I'm already starting to lose it! Please I'll do anything, just get me out of here!'_

I yelled to myself over and over, hoping that if there was a God, he would show mercy and maybe save me. I didn't want to think about it at the time but I knew that would never happen. However, I kept yelling to myself over and over, begging for freedom from this suffocating darkness. Anything that would save me, anything that had the power to free me. I ended my mental breakdown and listened, I wanted to hear something speak up and tell me that everything would be alright, that I would be saved from that horrible darkness. Though I was confident something would help me, nothing ever did. I was stuck in that blackness and there was nothing left I could do. I felt defeated, Agent Warren finally got what he wanted, I was finally dead. He's probably already gotten several awards and maybe a promotion. That bastard, I wished I could make him suffer this darkness. I decided that if I couldn't leave, I might as well get comfortable. I closed my eyes in hope that maybe I would be able to escape the darkness and into my dreams, maybe I would find some comfort.

The only problem with that plan was the fact that I wasn't dreaming. Even though I was closing my eyes, or at least I thought I was, all I could see was darkness. I tried to close my eyes harder, keeping them shut and again, all I saw was more darkness. It was hopeless to try and sleep. I was met with darkness everywhere. I couldn't take it anymore but I wasn't ready to give it up.

_'Please, if anything at all saves me, I'll owe you my life, I'll give you everything.'_

It was my last resort; I didn't care what saved me. If anything saved me, I would be eternally grateful. They would have The Shadow employed under their service for as long as they lived. I just wanted to leave that blackness. I was making another grave mistake but I didn't really care at the time. After a few moments of waiting, I heard something. After hearing it, I smiled widely. I was finally able to hear something. I listened closely and I heard the sound again. It sounded like someone walking and it sounded close.

_'Hello, is someone there?'_ I called out mentally. I wondered if whatever was out there could hear me.

Suddenly the walking got louder and louder. Whatever was making that sound had heard me. My face lit up with joy, I had hope that I would get out of that darkness. The walking got closer and closer until I heard it right in front of me.

"**Well, well, well, what a rare find. A human in the void. I was looking for an Ursa but you will do nicely.**" said something in front of me.

I strained my eyes to see who was talking but I couldn't find anyone.

_'Who's there_?' I asked in my head as I continued to look for the speaker.

"**And you're not brain-dead, this is excellent. I am Nightmare Moon, human. I heard your cries for help and decided to see you for myself. Now I find myself in the presence of an actual human. Tell me something, do you actually mean what you said earlier? About owing your life to the one that could save you?**" asked Nightmare Moon.

'_Nightmare Moon, if you can get me out of this goddamned darkness, I'll owe you everything. I meant what I said and I never go back on my word._'

"**Excellent.**" said Nightmare.

Suddenly, a bright flash went off in my face causing me to close my eyes. I have no idea where it originated from and I didn't care. It got rid of the darkness and I was thankful towards Nightmare Moon, whoever she was. I opened my eyes to find myself in a brightly light landscape that looked to go on for miles.

"Like what you see?" said something behind me. I turned and couldn't believe my eyes; there stood a large dark blue unicorn with wings. Her features were majestic, like something from a fairy tale. I was frozen, completely out of words; this was a first for me. I've seen some crazy things before but this really took the cake.

"Wha...what are you?" I asked as I continued to look over the winged unicorn.

"Now that's no way to talk to your savior, but I'll let that pass. I am an Alicorn, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon."

"So you're the one who saved me?" I asked.

"Indeed I am, though I'm afraid I didn't catch your name." she said as she leaned in a little closer to me.

I stood up, wiping the dust off my coat, and looked her straight in the face. This was the first time I actually got to see her face and if I wasn't the monster I am now, I would have backed away in fear. A smile was plastered across her face revealing a row of predatory teeth. Two large fangs more prevalent than the others. Her eyes were also completely different. Instead of the pupils being circle like they should be, Nightmare's pupils were slanted like that of a cat. For once in my life, I felt comfortable, like I could put my guard down when I was around her. We were the same, one a monster above the skin and one below.

"My name is Zhane Black. I thank you greatly for helping me Nightmare Moon. As promised, I am under your employ if need be."

"Your talents are very much needed Zhane. That is the reason I released you from the void. I wish to employ you and your skills in a job that is very important to me."

I nodded slightly. "Like I said, I will not go back on my word. I will serve you Nightmare Moon and do whatever I can to repay me debt to you."

"Excellent!" cried Nightmare as smiled widely. "Now tell me one thing Zhane. What kind of magic do you know?"

That question caught me off guard. Did she really just ask me what kind of magic I knew? I found it hard to find the words to answer this question.

"Ma...magic?" I asked. "Magic actually exists?"

The best way I could describes Nightmare's face was one of pure disbelief. The kind of face you get when someone asks you a really stupid question.

"What do you mean by that? Are you telling me you don't know magic?" Nightmare said still looking at me.

"I can honestly say that magic does not exist where I'm from." I said shrugging my shoulders.

Nightmare groaned and let out a loud snort.

"Just my luck to find possibly the last human somewhat alive and him not able to use magic."

"Ok, I'm confused." I stated as I tried to get Nightmare's attention. "No one where I'm from knows magic. We've adapted to function without things like that. Were there humans that actually knew magic?"

Nightmare didn't respond, instead, she snorted one last time before turning and facing me. Suddenly, her horn lit up with a dark blue hue. On instinct, I backed up and place my hand on my belt where I kept my push daggers. Nightmare noticed this and looked up at me.

"I'm not trying to hurt you; I just want to see into your memories."

At first I didn't like the idea of something looking into my memories, for obvious reasons. However, Nightmare did save me and she looked like she could handle it, so I complied. Slowly, I removed my hand from my belt and began to approach Nightmare. I stopped once her horn was rather close to my face. Once there, Nightmare's horn lit up brighter and suddenly flashed.

It was dark, almost as dark as that dreaded place I had escaped. The only difference was a small light in the distance. One that grow every passing second. Eventually, the light got bigger and bigger until it had enveloped me in white light.

"We'll give you three minutes to decide what you're going to do." said a voice calmly. At that moment, I instantly recognized who was speaking. It was Lewis Black, the Devil himself. That meant Nightmare was currently overlooking my memories. I only hoped she could stand looking through them.

There were two loud bangs followed by a maniacal laugh and silence. The next thing I heard was another loud bang followed by another voice from the past.

"I'll be damned, you actually killed one, a good one at that." said the voice.

I recognized it as Graham, the man who raised me for a good portion of my life. The man who made me realize what I was capable of. Another shot rang out followed by the sound of something burning. Nightmare had just seen my first kill.

"The pawn, the most useless and looked down upon pieces. However, with the right direction, this piece can replace its fallen comrades."

It was Lewis again; it was when I talked to them at the asylum. I always wanted to go back there and take their lives but after the feds had found out I had killed that State Trooper and visited them, they were moved and I never found out what happened to them.

"Any last words Zhane?" asked another voice.

"How does it feel to know that your best was not good enough to stop people from dying." said another.

I recognized this as my dying words to that bastard Warren. It was a joy to see him angry one last time before I died. There was another loud bang followed by another flash.

Once the light cleared, I saw myself standing in the same exact spot I was before Nightmare looked into my memories. I looked down at her and noticed she was staring at me with a toothy grin.

"I honestly didn't think you were capable of such acts Zhane, color me impressed. That makes this a whole lot easier."

"How exactly did I make this a whole lot easier?" I asked.

"From what I remember, humans were very peaceful creatures. After seeing what you've done in the past, you'll be able to do this task of ours without hesitation."

"If I may ask, what exactly is our task?" I asked.

"I was going to get to that." Nightmare said. "This task is one in which I only have one chance at. After that, I'll have to wait a long time before I can try again."

Nightmare stopped to clear her throat and began to talk again.

"A long time ago, my sister and I ruled a great kingdom known as Equestria. My sister controlled the raising and setting of the sun while ruling over the day. I myself was responsible for the rising and setting of the moon while I ruled over the nighttime. Over time, the citizens of our fair kingdom began to shun the night. They began to forget about me and paid more attention to my sister. The worst part is that my sister did nothing to stop this. She was too caught up in the love of her citizens."

"I became angry and confronted my sister. It was that day that I became sick of her nonsense and decided to rise against her. She took it a step too far and used her power to seal me in this realm for 1000 years. That 1000 years is about to end and we will soon be freed from this realm and placed back into Equestria. This is timed perfectly, for my sister is having a festival in her honor that night. This is where you come in Zhane, this is the reason I saved you. I want you by my side while this happens, I want you to be there with me when we return to Equestria and take it back. I want my dear sister to see that I have a human supporting me. To do this, I want you to deal with any of my sister's little guards or citizens that decide they want to stop us."

I took a moment to take all of that information in. Most of it I didn't understand like the rising and setting of the sun/moon. Then again, I didn't think magic was real but I was also proved wrong on that. In the end, I nodded.

"I will make sure those who bother us will regret doing so."

"Good." said Nightmare before she looked up into the white nothingness that was the sky of her realm. "It's almost time for us to depart from the damned realm. Are you ready Zhane?" asked Nightmare as she smiled.

I smiled like Nightmare had and nodded.

"Let's go have so fun."

* * *

**Here's Chapter 2 for everypony! Enjoy!**

**Alright, I posted a list of episodes that this story will be involved in on my tumblr. To get there, just go to my profile and click the link. **

**So, depending on the rate at which I am currently writing the later chapters for TSOE, I might start releasing two a week. In the end, I'll let everypony know what my final decision is. **


	4. One Crazy Night

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Chapter 3**

**One Crazy Night**

Nightmare looked at me with a large smile before her horn lit up again. She stood still for a few moments until a beam shot from her horn and into the sky.

"Get close to me Zhane; it is time for our grand entrance."

I complied and stood on her right side as close as I could.

"Any second now." Nightmare said as she stared into the sky of the realm.

I did the same and hoped to find what Nightmare was looking for but to no avail. She seemed to be looking for nothing, the sky was still white. Seconds later, I was surprised to see a dark twinkling in the white sky. Almost like a star in the night time sky but with the colors inverted.

"There it is, let's get out of here!" she shouted as her horn lit up again. This way different, instead of a beam, a mist came from her horn and surrounded both of us, completely engulfing us in a tornado of darkness. I was starting to freak out again; I was back in the blackness I had begun in. However, I knew Nightmare Moon wouldn't put me back, she knew what I was, she's seen my past. She told me herself that I was a rare find, even though I didn't know what that meant exactly. I knew for a fact she would cast me aside, so I calmed down and decided to wait it out.

As I waited, I noticed a small light in that darkness. It was small like a star in the nighttime sky, not able to give light but was bright enough to be seen. Eventually, the light got bigger and bigger until it completely engulfed me. The light was so bright I was forced to shield me eyes. After a moment, I moved my arm and found myself standing next to Nightmare Moon on a raised platform in some kind of build. I looked out into the crowd to see more ponies like Nightmare Moon except none where exactly like her. Some had horns while some had wings. There were even some that had neither. As I looked around the room, the look of fear was prevalent. That day, I couldn't tell if they were afraid of me or Nightmare or me. We were receiving the same amount of attention.

"Oh my beloved subjects." began Nightmare. "It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little, sun loving faces."

"What did you do with our Princess!?" yelled a Rainbow colored pegasus that was in the crowd below. The pegasus then proceeded to try and fly towards Nightmare but was held back but another pony who had a hold of the Rainbow pony's tail.

Nightmare laughed slightly. "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

Another pony in the audience began to name of several names before have an apple shoved in its mouth by the same pony holding the Rainbow one's tail.

Nightmare leaned over to a yellow and pink pegasus that was close to the balcony.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for 1000 years?"

Nightmare leaned over to another pony that was close as well, a white unicorn with a purple mane.

"Do you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

Before Nightmare could continue interrogating the unicorn, a voice rang out from the crowd.

"I did!" yelled the voice. "And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon."

Once this was said, every pony in that building gasped loudly. It was almost like Nightmare's name was taboo.

Nightmare and I looked down at the crowd to see a lavender unicorn with purple and pink hair. The ponies around her had backed up and formed a circle around her, easily revealing her position.

"Well, well, well." said Nightmare as she flapped her wings. "Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to... to." said the lavender pony as she looked around with a terrified look on her face. Instead of answering, the pony just looked down at the ground.

Nightmare noticed this and began to laugh manically.

"Remember this day little ponies for it was your last. From this moment forward, the night will last forever!"

Thunder began to boom as Nightmare began to laugh. Suddenly, her wavy mane began to twist and twirl until a large tornado was formed above us.

"Seize her and that beast with her! Only they know where the Princess is." yelled another pony from the crowd. I turned my head to the left and noticed as three pegasus ponies, all wearing golden armor began to fly directly towards us. As a reaction, I grabbed one of my daggers and readied it. Nightmare noticed the guards as well and turned her attention to them.

"Stand back you foals!" she yelled as her eyes began to turn white. The thunder boomed and this time, three bolts of lightning struck and hit each of the guards. I watched as they fell to the ground and slowly got back up.

"Zhane, make an example out of them! I want the ponies here to know not to mess with us!" Nightmare yelled as she smiled.

I nodded gladly and readied my push dagger. As the first guard made his way back up to us, I grabbed the collar of his chest piece and shoved the push dagger into his throat. He gave little fight before he stopped moving all together. I threw his body to the ground and waited for the next guard. The next guard's left wing was burnt from the lightning but somehow was able to keep himself a float. I changed that.

As the guard approached, I smashed my fist into the side of his helmet causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Before he was able to fall, I grabbed him by his head and jerked it to the left as hard as possible. I was satisfied to hear a loud crunch as his neck looked very out of place. I took his body and threw it off the balcony, close to the first. Now the last guard was making his way up to the balcony. Before he got there, I turned to Nightmare.

"They'll know not to mess with you after they see this." I said.

"I'm excited to see what you'll do." she said as an evil smile crossed her face.

I turned back to the guard to see that he had almost reached us. However, if he wasn't so weak from the lightning blast he would have avoided his fate. As he got close, I grabbed him and placed him on the ground at my feet. That's when I noticed that he had that look, the pleading look in his eyes. I loved that look, the one that says more than a large story. One that puts the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" to shame.

Slowly, I began to lower my push dagger towards the guard. He tried to kick and get away from me but his efforts were in vain. The dagger got closer and closer until I slowly began to push it into his neck. I stopped before I went any further, what was the fun of killing this guard if I wanted to send a message. I had to do something worse, something that would get across faster than being killed.

I pulled my push dagger away and look down his body, there had to be something else I could do than killing him? There had to be something I could do that would be better. As I said this, my eyes caught sight of his slightly singed wings. It was perfect, I knew exactly what to do. I moved my push dagger around his body and placed them on his wings. He noticed what I was going to do and tried to persuade me.

"Please don't do this!" he yelled in a panicked voice. "Please, I'll do anything, I'll give you anything, just don't do what I think you're going to do!"

I smiled; this is why I do what I do. To get this feeling of power, to know that you have complete control over people simply because they fear you. Sometimes, it's even more fun to show them why they should fear me.

I push the dagger into the base of his wing and was assaulted with the pained screams of the guard. However, I wasn't deterred, I continued to push and push until the dagger had protruded through the other side and had completely severed the base of the wing.

The blood began to spill from the wound like a fountain, this would surely send a message to those how try to oppose Nightmare. I message I hope they understood. I picked up the guards and severed wing off the ground and held them over my head.

"Take this as a warning!" I yelled to the crowd. "If you try and stop us, you'll end up like this poor, little guard. Chopped into pieces."

As I said that, I threw the body and wing down to the ground and watched as the ponies around it started to back away. I then turned to Nightmare.

"I believe they got the message." said with a smile.

"Indeed they did. Get close to me Zhane, we're leaving." I nodded and got back into my position next to Nightmare. The tornado surrounded us and once again the darkness was all around me. With that we left the ponies to collect and decide what to do next.

Once again, I saw a small light and watched as it got bigger and bigger. Anticipating what was about to happen, I closed my eyes and waited a moment before opening them. When I did, I was met with the smiling face of Nightmare Moon.

"You're turning out to be far better than I had hoped Zhane."

I smiled slightly. "I just did what I do best Nightmare, kill. There's nothing to it really." I paused before continuing. "If you don't mind me asking, what are we doing here?"

As I asked the question. I noticed that we were standing in the ruins of what looked to be an old castle.

"We're here to get one thing, The Elements of Harmony. A magical artifact that wields great power. I would like to remove them from the palace before anypony has a chance to find them."

I watched as Nightmare motioned towards a moss covered statue. Upon closer inspection, the statue was a pedestal that held five stone orbs, each with a different carving.

"These are The Elements of Harmony. As of now there are only five on the statue for the sixth has been lost to the ages."

Nightmare then turned towards me.

"I would like you to remove those five stone orbs and get them ready to be moved. I'm going to make sure no guards or pesky little village ponies interrupt us."

I nodded and watched as the same dark blue fog surrounded Nightmare and made it way out of the open roof of the destroyed castle. With Nightmare gone, I began to do as she asked and move the five stones away from the statue.

"I've only been in this place for maybe 20 minutes tops and I'm more confused than my whole life back home. I need to make SOME kind of sense of all of this."

I began to go over the details in my head.

'Nightmare wants revenge on her sister for locking her up but her sister did so to stop Nightmare from making nighttime forever. Now we're in some destroyed castle to get a magic artifact because Nightmare is paranoid that someone would use it against her. To top it all off, I'm supposed to have some kind of magical properties according to Nightmare. When I said I didn't, she told me all humans had magical powers. That just brings up another question. What human or humans did she meet? I'm pretty sure that she didn't meet anybody from where I'm from. Does that mean that humans existed in Equestria too?'

I let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose. All of this was too much for me to handle. I decided that once we moved these Elements, I was going to ask Nightmare about these things. Maybe she would be able to shed some light on that subject. She should have done so in the first place but I'm not complaining, she did save me from that awful place and I am grateful.

I pulled myself out of my rant to see that I had done as Nightmare had asked and readied the Elements for transport. Now the only thing left to do was wait for Nightmare Moon. So to waste time, I propped myself against one of the nearby pillars and shut my eyes. I hoped that maybe I would be able to get some rest before we moved the Elements.

Sadly, fate was not on my side that night and did not allow me to sleep. However, instead of the sound of the frogs and insects outside, I heard the clip clop on hooves on the stone floor. I was confused; maybe Nightmare had brought a pony back.

"Whoa!" said one of the ponies that walked in. That definitely didn't sound like Nightmare, it sounded like that rainbow colored mare with the temper. If she was here, that meant Nightmare wasn't.

"Come on Twilight, isn't this whatcha been waitin' for?" said another voice in a heavy accent.

"The Elements of Harmony! We found them!" yelled another. As soon as I heard that I jumped up onto my feet and waited for the right time to reveal myself. As I observed the group, I recognized all of the ponies. The short temper pegasus, the orange earth pony that held her back. The all pink pony that called Nightmare those funny names. The purple and white unicorn along with the yellow and pink pegasus that Nightmare was the closest to when we arrived at that building. Lastly was the lavender unicorn with the purple and pink mane. She was the only one that knew about Nightmare, the only one that recognized her. That must mean they're looking for the Elements, maybe they were seeking to take them as well. As Nightmare ordered, I was not going to allow that to happen.

"What a second, why are they on the floor? Has somepony already been here?" asked the lavender unicorn to the ponies behind her.

I decided that now was right time, so I moved out of the shadows and approached the ponies.

"I would suggest that you turn around and leave at once." I said as I pulled out one of my push daggers.

There was a collection of gasps before any one the ponies decided to speak up.

"You're that thing that hurt those guards!" yelled the rainbow pony as she snorted loudly.

"It was three guards, probably low rank. I doubt anyone will miss them. You know why?" I asked as I got closer. "Because they were expendable. I bet that your precious Princess will replace those guards when she gets the chance." I cleared my throat. "Now like I said, step away from the Elements before I do to you what I did to those guards."

The six ponies backed up far enough that I was able to stand in front of the Elements, blocking them.

"Why are you helping Nightmare Moon?" asked the lavender unicorn. "We need to stop her from making night eternal. Can you please give us the Elements?"

"You don't think I don't know what Nightmare Moon is trying to do? I know what her plans are and I'm for them 100%. Nightmare Moon saved my life and in return I pledged it to her and that means doing what she asks. She told me to keep the Elements safe and that is what I'm going to do. So you better stop talking or you'll end up annoying me, and that won't be good for you or your pony friends."

A concerned look crossed the unicorn's face as I finished my long winded speech. A look that yelled fear but also doubled as a look of sadness. I didn't care what that unicorn thought or said, I wasn't giving those Elements up.

'Zhane are you still with the Elements?' yelled a voice in my head. Due to the sound, I assumed that it was Nightmare speaking.

'Yes Nightmare, but there are six ponies here that tried to grab them. I'm keeping them away until you get here.' I thought as I tried to communicate with Nightmare.

'Those annoying ponies have been a thorn in my side all night. Keep them back for a little more Zhane I'm almost there. Once I'm there, jump into the mist and we'll be out of here.'

'Gotcha.' I confirmed as I continued to watch the ponies with a careful eye.

"Please just give us the Elements." asked the lavender unicorn again. "You have no idea..."

I stopped the unicorn there.

"You best stop there, I'm not giving you these Elements and all you're doing by constantly asking is annoying me."

The wind started to pick up and I noticed Nightmare's mist enter from the broken roof. Suddenly, the familiar dark blue tornado formed behind me and sucked the Elements up with it.

"So long unicorn." I said as I jumped through, straight into the blackness. Once again, the light appeared and blinded me once more as we exited the mist. I uncovered my eyes to see Nightmare to my left but she was focused on something. I followed her line of sight till I saw what she was staring at. That lavender unicorn had followed us. She must have jumped in the mist right before it left.

'Damn that unicorn' I said as I stood up and readied myself. Nightmare had picked up the Elements and had them orbiting around her. She let out a loud laugh as she heard the unicorn's gasp of terror. That laugh died down once the lavender unicorn snorted and dragged one of her hooves across the stone floor. Apparently, Nightmare thought that this was some sort of joke.

"You're kidding. You're kidding right?" she asked as she looked at the unicorn with a confused gaze. Her gaze turned from confused to anger once she saw the unicorn charge her horn and start to run at her. Nightmare looked back at me.

"Stay with the Elements."

I nodded and watched as she dashed towards the unicorn. They got closer and closer until they were about to meet in the middle. However, as they got close, the unicorn's horn lit up brighter and with a flash, the unicorn disappeared. Frantically, I looked over at the Elements to see the unicorn with her horn pointed at them. I took off into a dead sprint as I readied my push dagger. I got close and thrusted my dagger forward, aiming for the unicorn's neck. Before I could do this, a spark emitted from the stone orbs that sent both the unicorn and me flying back. The unicorn only landed several feet away, I wasn't so lucky.

I flew back and hit on of the stone pillars behind me. I wasn't going slow either; I hit that pillar going pretty fast. To make it even better. I slid down the pillar and hit my head on the stone floor. As of that moment, I felt completely disoriented. I tried to pay attention to what was going on but my vision kept blurring and my balance became almost none existence. The next few events became blurs. I remember loud laughing followed by the sound of glass shattering. The next was a blinding light and a loud, panicked scream from who I thought was Nightmare.

At that point, I couldn't take it anymore. I pushed myself to my feet and tried to get over to Nightmare but was stopped by a loud crumbling sound. I looked up to see that the ceiling was falling apart for some apparent reason. I tried to move to Nightmare as quick as possible by was stopped by the feeling of enormous weight all around me. After that, I lost consciousness.

The next thing I felt was pain. It was like the pain I had felt running away from Agent Warren. The next thing I felt was the warm, wet feeling of blood. Was it mine or was it someone else's? At that point, I would have been surprised if it wasn't mine. Breathing was hard under that rubble and what made it even worse was a blinding light that flooded through the cracks between the rocks. My eyes widened as I realized what light that was, it was the sun's light. That meant one thing, Nightmare was... gone. Those damned ponies had done something to her and now she was gone. The thing that saved me from an eternity of loneliness and I would never see her again. It was starting to feel like what happen when Agent Warren had found me.

'Is this it for me?' I asked myself. I then remembered the panicked scream Nightmare did before whatever happened to her happened. It pained me to remember this but it also filled me with rage, a blood-lust. I wanted to make those ponies pay, I wanted them to suffer, and I wanted them to bleed. I made up my mind and begin to shift through the rock. The pain in my chest was trying to stop me from moving so I ignored it and kept going. I kept shifting and shifting until my hand breached the surface of the rubble. From there, I used that leverage and began to pull myself out. Once my head was out, I got a good look of everything.

The sun had risen and my suspicions were confirmed, Nightmare was gone. This was again evident since the helmet she wore was laying one the stone floor next to the rubble. I looked in front of me to see another Alicorn, like Nightmare, except some was all white with a mane full of cheerful colors. That had to be Nightmare's sister, Celestia. Celestia was currently hugging another Alicorn that looked somewhat like Nightmare Moon. Her colors matched but at the same time, she wasn't the same. As the two continued to hug, I found a chance to attack. I then pulled my feet out of the rubble, lost my grip, and started to tumble down the pile straight to the floor. I would have been fine except for the fact that I landed on my chest and the pain returned once more. I gasped in pain as I started to cough and I put my hand to my mouth. I removed it and saw something that made me go wide eyed. Blood, my blood, was in my hand. I cursed silently as I got back up. Surely I have already been seen and there was no changing that.

I looked up to see that all the ponies were looking at me. They were all looking at me with a frightened look in their eyes. All of them except for Celestia, she looked surprised.

"Twilight, is this the beast you were talking about?" she said to the lavender unicorn.

"Yes Princess, that's the thing that helped Nightmare Moon." said the unicorn who I assumed was Twilight.

The Princess turned and looked at me in amazement. "In all my years, I never thought I would see another human."

"What are you talking about Princess?" asked Twilight. "That thing is a monster that killed three of your guards and helped Nightmare Moon. Why are you so interested in it?" asked Twilight.

The Princess turned to Twilight. "Because Twilight, Humans have be extinct for 2000 years. The last human I ever saw was before Luna and I became the rulers of Equestria."

My eyes widened at the mention of that. I wanted to freak out but I also wanted blood. I guess the freak-out would have to wait. I began to walk forward as fast I my feet would carry me, which was not very fast. As I walked towards the ponies, I reached to my belt and pulled out another push dagger. Here was the dilemma, in front of stood two ponies I wanted dead but I could only kill one. I looked at Twilight and made my decision and changed course towards the lavender unicorn. Apparently, Celestia saw this and stood in front of Twilight.

"Human." she said firmly. "I ask that you stop your advance and give up. You are badly injured. Please, I do not wish to hurt you."

"Then I'll kill you first." I said as I approached the Princess and raised my push dagger. I plunged it forward but it was stopped and my hand was surrounded by a bright yellow aura. Suddenly, my wrist twisted, causing me to release my dagger and fall to the ground in pain. I looked back up to see Celestia's horn in my face.

"Sorry but I have to do this." said Celestia as her horn lit up and released a bright light that hit me directly in the face. The last thing I remember seeing was all the ponies surrounding as I laid there slowly blacking out.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 3 for everypony enjoy.**

**Now, I am making the decision to post two a week by Friday. If a new chapter doesn't go up by Friday, then I have decided against it. If it has, you guys can expect a new chapter every Monday and every Friday. **


	5. Escape!

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Chapter 4**

**Escape!**

It was dark again; almost as dark as that terrible void I was pulled from. At times, I wished that I had been killed by that blast while at other time; I had wished that I was fully awake and bathing in the blood of those ponies. But I couldn't do anything, I was stuck in perceptual darkness like before. So to keep myself calm, I started to do what I normally did in times of extreme stress, I started to plan. For some unknown reason, just knowing that I had the slightest idea of what I was going to do in the future comforted me. Now was the best time to do so.

"Alright." I said as I began to think. "I'll need to find out where I am first. I could literally be anywhere right now. This presents another problem, I won't know where I would be. Maybe I'll get lucky and have been taken back to Ponyville or maybe I wasn't moved. But, I severally doubt that."

I started to calm down; at least I had an idea. It was better than waking up without a clue in the world. I began to concentrate again.

"Ok, what next? Uhh, I'll uhh... I'll get away from the settlement I am currently being held in and get as far away as possible. Maybe try and find myself an ally. I bet Equestria has one or two shady characters that would be willing to help me.

I paused again before continuing.

"Then I'll... I'll...I'll..."

Something felt wrong; my mind became void of all word and was replaced with nothing. I felt like something was watching me, something was listening to my conversation with myself. It felt...different, like it wasn't anything I have encountered in Equestria. However, at the same time, it felt similar, like Nightmare Moon. It felt like she was near but not at all. I looked left and right into the darkness, there was nothing to be seen. I started to write that feeling off as a symptom of my paranoia and tried to continue with my planning.

"**Human**." said a deep voice somewhere close to me. This caused me to look around again seeing if I could catch a glimpse of the one calling for me.

"Hello?" I called. "Who's there?"

My answer came quickly.

"**It is I, the one you serve, the one you protect, the one who saved you**."

"Nightmare!?" I called out. "Is that you?"

"**Sadly, it is not. The Elements of Harmony have transformed her back to her original form. I myself, was cast out of that body and thrown into the void. Once again we meet**.

"Wait, I don't understand. Nightmare Moon wasn't real?" I asked confusedly.

"**No, Nightmare Moon was me, I was the one controlling the body, I was the one who made all of the choices. The owner of the body was Princess Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna**."

"So, you're Nightmare Moon?"

"**No**." the voice said again. "**Without Luna, I am not Nightmare Moon. Throughout time, I have had many names. Demon, Hate, The Dark One, The One Devoid of Light. My real name has been lost to the ages, even I have forgotten. However, you may call me Umbra, a name that suits me quite well**."

Nodding, I looked around the darkened sky that was the supposed void.

"So this is the place where you found me the first time?" I asked as I continued to look.

"**No, this is your subconscious. The nature of Celestia's magic has placed you in a coma for some time. I'm here to present an escape for you. I think you'll find that I might be your only option**."

My attitude wavered and I became increasingly angry. I didn't like the idea of having to beg to be released.

"Why didn't you release me when you had the chance? Do you have a reason to hold me here?" I asked with a sneer.

"No need to become angry Zhane, I do not intend on keeping here. I'm stopped myself from pulling you out of this coma so that I may gain your approval."

"Approval? Approval for what?"

"I require a host to keep myself out of the void and in the real world. I only managed to keep myself from going back by jumping into your subconscious and staying hidden. I am extending an offer to you Zhane, one that would be beneficial to us both."

My rage subsided and was replaced with intrigue.

"Go on, I'm listening."

"I require a host to stay here and right now you're my only choice. I wish to enter your body so that I my stay in this realm."

"Let me stop you right there Umbra." I said with a frown on my face. "I don't like the idea of losing control of my body."

"That's the good thing." said Umbra. "You won't. All humans have a natural ability to use magic, powerful magic. Because of this, humans are able to store vast quantities of mana throughout their bodies. When I look at you, I see that you are completely devoid of any magic. If you allow me to enter your body, I will be considered as mana and thus you would keep control of your body while offering me shelter. The best part is, I'll be able to lend you my power from inside your body. Thus enabling you to use magic."

What Umbra said really had me thinking. In a way, what he was offering was really inciting, especially the part about magic, but that was at the back of my mind at the moment. My first thought was escape, then I would worry about magic.

"And all you wish is to take refuge in my body, like you did with Princess Luna?"

"Yes, except you would keep control. I'll provide you with the means to defend yourself while supplying you with any information you may need about Equestria. I happen to know a thing or two about this place."

I sighed before looking back at the darkness.

"Alright, I accept your offer."

"Excellent!" yelled Umbra from the darkness. "Now I will wake you up from this coma and when you awake, I'll have entered your body. You'll know that I'm there. However, I must remind you that the ponies have yet to heal you of your injuries. Their incompetence goes beyond measures. So when you awake, you will be in pain."

I didn't say anything; I just nodded and waited to awaken from my coma. I could feel something warm surround me, as if the hot, summer sun had begun to shine. This heat caused my eyelid to droop until they were fully shut.

* * *

My eyes shot open to be met with the sight of several ponies looking over me. However, my vision was too blurred to make out who they were. The only thing that I could make out clearly were the covers they wore over their mouths. I quickly assumed that the ponies now looking at me were doctors. Maybe Umbra was wrong, maybe they had healed me. Boy was I wrong.

It started out small, like a small pinching in my chest, annoying but ignorable. It then began to build and build until I felt an unbearable pressure in my chest. I only started to worry once the pain became present and once it did, it was noticeable. It felt like someone had stuck a metal rebar in a fire pit and was using it to constantly poke my insides. I couldn't help but scream in pain. Through my pained screams I could hear the ponies around me talk.

"Quick, go get the guards, I want to be ready just in case something might happen." said one of the ponies. "Alert the Princess as well. She'll want to ask this thing some questions."

"Yes doctor." said another voice off to the side.

"Alright nurse, has the alchemists finished the healing potion?" asked the doctor.

"Yes doctor." said another voice. "They finished it this morning and delivered it a few minutes ago. Now that he's awake, I suggest we use it."

There was a loud sound of something made of glass clanking around before the nurse spoke up again.

"Here you go doctor." she said. "I'll try and hold him down while you administer it."

"Excellent." said the doctor. "Now, keep him down."

I could feel some extra weight holding down my head, arms, and feet, keeping them from moving. I then felt something cold against my lips. I had aromatically assumed it to be the glass bottle and opened my mouth wider. From the glass bottle poured some kind of luke warm liquid. I swallowed without hesitation and gagged slightly at the taste. Nevertheless, I could feel the pain in my body slowly disappearing until it was no existent. This finally gave me an opportunity to relax.

"He seems to be stable now. The potion must have done the trick. I want you to check everything once more before the guards get here. I have to attend to the other patient." said the doctor.

"Yes doctor." said the nurse as the as the door opened and closed.

Soon there was nothing but silence, the only sound was the occasional sound of someone scribbling on something. Now the pain was fully gone and vision was slowly returning. Once I could see fully, I was met with the sight of a brown unicorn in a nurse outfit. As I was looking, she had noticed and got my attention.

"Now that you're awake and responding, I'll need to ask you several questions before you leave the infirmary." she said as she wrote on the clip board.

"Where am I?" I asked.

She didn't even look away from her clipboard and completely ignored my question.

"Name?" she asked.

I sighed mentally, might as well go along with it.

"Zhane Black." I said.

There was more writing before she asked another question.

"Age?" she asked.

"22." I said in response.

This time, I was able to ask a question.

"How long was I out?" I asked, thankfully, she answered.

"You have been in a coma for a week. We had no idea that Princess Celestia's magic would do such a thing but nonetheless, we treated you accordingly." said the nurse in a monotone voice.

Before I could ask another question, they were a loud knock at the door.

"Come in." yelled the nurse.

As the door opened, six guards like the ones I had "made an example of" entered the room. Another walked in as well; this one was wearing purple armor, likely a sign of leadership. As they entered the room, I saw one of the guards move over to me and clamp thick shackles bound by chains around my legs.

"Nurse, remove the leather straps and step back." said the pony in purple armor.

The nurse complied and loosed the leather straps around my hands. However, these were instantly replaced with tight fitting iron shackles.

"Get up." demanded the pony in purple.

I had no choice but to comply, so I pulled my feet over the bed I was laying one and pushed myself off. Now at complete height, the pony in purple went to the door.

"Start moving." said one of the guard ponies behind me as he prodded at me.

I looked back slightly before I began to follow the purple armored pony. I could still feel the pain of my injuries but it was a small pain, easily ignorable. We eventually reached a small room with a small table in the middle that looked slightly like an interrogation room. The purple pony pushed me in the room and sat me down at the table, chained me to places in the floor and walked off.

Now I was all alone in a small room, hooked to the floor, unable to leave. I looked to my right and saw a large window that reflected my image. It was obviously a one way mirror. So if this was an interrogation room, who was going to interrogate me? My question was answered as the door opened and a familiar face walked in. One that I already had much hate towards. It was that sun princess Celestia.

She looked at me and I looked at her. In that moment, I could see a look of pity in her eyes which was quickly replaced with hate. She broke eye contact and walked over to the table before sitting at one of the chairs. She stared at me for several moments before starting to talk.

"Why did you do it?" she asked in a professional voice.

"Do what?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

Clearly keeping her anger under check, Celestia replied. "You know exactly what I am talking about human. Why would you do that to those guards? Why would you help Nightmare Moon? Why did you intend to kill us? Did your parents not instill a sense of pride and justice into you as a child?"

"My parents weren't there to teach me shit." I replied. "I've been on my own for most of my own life. I don't need some pony questioning me about my every action."

Celestia's mouth slowly formed a frown. "You best watch your language human. You are in no position to talk in that way."

"Who are you to judge me? I am not under your rule and you best remember that."

Celestia's anger was quite visible now. She placed a hoof on the table and snorted loudly. She completely ignored my previous insult and continued with the questions.

"Why would you help Nightmare Moon, of all ponies, why her?"

"Because she saved me from the void and gave me a new purpose." I replied.

This caused Celestia's eyes to widen.

"She pulled you from the void?! Her judgment may have been clouded by anger and jealousy but she knows better than to pull anything from the void."

She calmed down before asking another question.

"What is your magical affiliation?"

There was that question again, in a different form. All of those ponies constantly assumed that I was able to use magic. I didn't understand their reasoning behind it. Part of me wanted to tell her about Umbra but another part was yelling "**DON'T TELL HER ANYTHING**!"

That had to be Umbra talking, warning me. Even though he didn't say anything, it was a gut feeling. I felt like I should keep quiet about it and so I did.

I frowned slightly.

"Why do you ponies constantly ask me that question? I have no magical abilities and never did."

"Then what did Nightmare Moon see in you? What use would she have for a human that doesn't know magic?" asked Celestia.

"She was more interested about my skills in my profession than nonexistent magical abilities."

"And what would your profession be?" she asked.

"Take a guess." I said with a slight smile. "I'll give you a one hint though. Think about what happened to your poor guards at Ponyville."

"You killed two and maimed the other but I don't see how that..."

Celestia kept her mouth open, like the realization of what I had said hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I love doing what I do Princess. It makes me feel so alive and when I kill something, the feeling is like nothing of this world."

"What kind of monster are you?" asked Celestia.

I leaned forward and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm human; I'm the worst kind of monster, the one that actually exists. The one that stalks you in your nightmares as well as real life."

Celestia emotion had now completely flipped. She went from angry to terrified. It was easy to see in her eyes, the way they shrank when she looked at me. It was like she was looking at some sort of foul creature. She turned and yelled to the door.

"Guards!"

The door quickly opened and four guards walked in.

"Yes ma'am?" said the one in purple armor.

"Take this..." she paused to look back at me before continuing. "This human to cell block E and keep him under constant surveillance."

"Yes ma'am." exclaimed the guard as he and his friends unhooked the chains and began to pull on them, forcing me up. Groaning slightly, I complied and stood up from my chair and slowly made my way across the room. As I passed Celestia, I could see the look of fear in her eyes, a sense of dread. I ate that up, it joyed me that I was able to instill that kind of fear into a Princess. If telling her that I was a murderer unsettled her, then I could literally scare her out of her skin with the stories I could tell. However, I doubted that I would get another chance to be alone with the Princess again. Whatever cell block E was, it sounded unpleasant.

I was lead out of the room and into the long hallway. Everything was quiet exist for that nagging feeling in my head, the one I associated with Umbra.

"**Escape**!" was the single word that crossed my mind as I was led down that long hallway.

The only problem was the way of doing so. I had no weapons, no leverage against armed guards. My push daggers were probably no longer obtainable and I was lucky they didn't take my cloak off of me. I almost fretted the upcoming incarceration until I remembered the one thing that Umbra told me. He told me that he would provide a means of protection. If so, where was it? Where was this magic he promised to me?

As I walked, I focused on my hands, hoping for something happen; nothing did.

_'Dammit Umbra, you said I would be able to use magic. Why can't I_?'

"**Want it, and focus again. You'll get your desired results**." said the voice in my head.

Finally with an answer, I focused on my hands again.

_'I want this, I want to get out of here, I want to be free_.'

Nothing happened, so I tried again.

_'I refuse to be locked up. I want to be free_.'

Still nothing, I frowned, I was now angry.

_'I refuse to be jailed. I will kill every pony in this damned castle if that's what it takes to be free. I will be free, nothing with stop me! I will be free!_'

A sudden surge in my hand caused a small shiver to travel down my spine. Soon another passed and another, until the surges became constant. I could feel an unusual pressure in my hand, one that I felt the need to release. So it got too overbearing and my hands began to ache as the pressure built up more and more. Soon, I saw a spark of energy pass over my hand; I could feel the pressure reaching an apex. Whatever was causing the pressure was going to be big. The guards beside me didn't even notice. I was going to kill the one in purple first; it was going to be amazing. However, I didn't account for an extra pony, no less an Alicorn to alert them.

"Stop!" I heard from behind me. I turned to see and small dark blue Alicorn that faintly resembled Nightmare Moon. That's when it hit me, that was Princess Luna. That meant she probably knew what I was trying to do.

"Guards, I implore thee to step away from that vicious human. He is preparing a very large spell, so large that I could feel it from across the castle grounds."

With that, the guards turned and backed away slowly, surrounding the small Princess. The only one that remained was the pony in purple armor, his horn glowing.

"Captain Shining Armor!" called out Princess Luna. "What is thou doing over yonder? If the human is able to cast the spell, thou would surely perish."

"No worries Princess, the iron shackles on his arms and legs suppress any and all types of magic."

"I'm afraid that the magic that this human wields is similar to that of Nightmare Moon's. Making those shackles obsolete." yelled Princess Luna.

The look of fear in the pony's eyes was astounding. He backed away quicker than I thought was physically possible for any living creature. Now with all obstacles out of the way, I was one step closer to freedom.

"What do you gain in doing this human?" asked Princess Luna.

My answer came after a twisted smile.

"Freedom." I said as the pressure from my hands ceased and a large, black wave of force blasted forth in all directions.

"**Run**." said the voice in my head. I quickly agreed and ran as fast as I could with the shackles around my legs. I needed a way to remove them. Nothing was around but something told me to grasp the chains, so I did just that. As soon as I touched the chains around my feet, a loud hissing was heard throughout the air. As quickly as I had placed my hand on the chains, they were gone. An empty void replaced the area they had once inhabited.

Now free from my bindings and with this wonderful power now granted to me by Umbra, I had full reign on my own design and the only thing on my mind was freedom.

* * *

**Here's chapter 4 for eveypony. Enjoy!**

**I did not post another chapter Friday but that does not rule ou the two a week option entirely. I will continue to look at m writing and see if I'm comfortable with posting two a week.**

**See everypony Friday or next Monday!**


	6. The Spectre in the Cell

**The Shadow of Equestria**

**Chapter 5**

**The Spectre in the Cell**

Finally free at last, away from those accursed ponies but still stuck inside their castle. They have probably deployed multiple platoons of guards by now, just as an attempt to stop me. However, I would escape before that would happen, I would leave and never return for as long as I resided in Equestria. However, another realization had hit me as I ran down the exquisitely decorated hallways. I remembered that the ponies still had my push daggers, something that I held near and dear to my heart, just like my cloak.

I contemplated searching for them. Even though I have a magical power to help, it always felt good to have a push dagger ready to kill. The only problem that I saw was that of location. I had no idea where they took the damn things and it would probably take hours to find. Ultimately, I had to choose the former thought and leave them behind. It hurt me to do so but weapons are replaceable.

I continued to run down the hallways looking for a means of escape. There was an occasional door here and a door there but none that looked to lead anywhere. Eventually, I came upon a dead end with one door at the back wall. I had no idea where it went and I had no intention to find out. So I turned and began to leave but was stopped when I heard the sound of armor clanking around in the distance. That meant the guards were gaining on me and my only way was through that door at the end of the hall. So, I sighed and quickly ran over to it, pulled the door open, and entered.

Once inside, I didn't like what I saw. I saw rows and rows of jail cells; they must be the cells blocks. I cursed myself, how could I have been so stupid as to walk right into the jail of the castle. It was like surrendering whist I had the upper hand. There I made the decision to turn around and face the guards; maybe my newly found powers would see me through. As I turned, something called out from one of the cells.

"Hey you! Come over here, I can help."

With my curiously peaked, I turned and walked to where the noise had originated from. I approached the cell and was greeted by the sight of a sickly looking Pegasus pony. Her hair was a messy assortment of black and green, her feathers ruffled and bent at odd angles. There were dark bags under her eyes, evidence of many sleepless nights. Scars laced her body from her head to her feet. To top it off, she had a glazed look in her eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked with a frown on my face.

"Let me get a good look at you." she said as she approached the bars even more. She started to eye me down, looking at every feature. After a moment, she looked at my face.

"So you actually do exist." she said in a voice of disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the pony.

"News in Canterlot travels fast, especially to those who followed Nightmare Moon's teachings. We heard of a creature that aided in returning and protected her. We were interested in seeing if this was true and decided to look into the matter. That led to my incarceration."

I wanted to walk away, to run, but as soon as I heard Nightmare's name mentioned, I decided to stay.

"Why are you so interested in me?" I asked.

"You were with the Dark Queen. You were able to bear witness to her majesty and protected her till the end. Till those Elements destroyed her. The Black Hooves are in awe of your skills and wanted to find you and protect you."

"**The Black Hooves are a group of ponies that dedicated themselves to serving me. Aside from being annoying and easily impressed, they had their usefulness."** said Umbra as the pegasus pony finished.

"So you want to protect me?" I asked with a questioning look.

Not just me." said the pegasus. "All of my brothers and sisters as well."

"**Accept their help, they'll be useful in the long run." **said Umbra.

"If you want to help me, find me a way to escape from this castle." I said.

"I can do more than that; I can offer you a place to lay low. Just get me out of this cell and we'll get going."

I looked at the pegasus for a moment. I had just met her and I was putting faith in her to get me out of the castle. I would have said no and walked away but she was my only hope at the moment. So I complied.

I looked at the cell door and found where the lock was located. I placed my hand on the lock and watched as an unknown force began to eat away at the lock. It took a good twenty seconds for the lock to completely disappear but once it had, the door swung up freely. I held the door open and watched as the pegasus walked out and motioned towards me.

"Follow me, I know the way out." she said as she started to run deeper into the jail.

I sighed and followed.

We ran a good five minutes until we hit the back of the jail. Underneath us was a large metal plate that had a picture of a sun and a moon on it.

"This is a sewer entrance." said the pegasus. "The Black Hooves use it to get around Canterlot without being seen. We also use it to escape from places we don't want to be, like a jail. However, these things are heavy, so could you help?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes and approached the sewer entrance. I looked for a place to grab and found that the plate was littered with holes just big enough to slip my fingers into. So I bent down and began to pull on the plate until it lifted from its resting place.

"Awesome, be sure you place the thing back before we start going." said the pegasus as she jumped into the hole.

I then turned, lowered myself into the hole and pulled the plate back over before I let go. Now in complete darkness and a cramped tunnel, I focused on finding my way forward. I reached forward and grabbed a hold of a wing I assumed belonged to the pegasus.

"Hey, if you wanted to feel me up, you could've just asked." she said in a snarky voice.

I removed my hand and growled slightly.

"I'm in no mood for games pony." I said.

"No need to get angry, I was just messing with you." she said with a laugh. "Just stay close to me and we'll be out of here in no time."

I didn't say anything and just followed the sound of hooves hitting cobblestone in front of me. We kept walking for a good 15 minutes until I was bombarded with another question.

"I never got your name or what exactly you are. Mind telling me?" she asked.

I stayed silent before finally answering.

"My name is Zhane Black and I'm a human."

"Wait, you mean like those humans from Equestrian legend?" said the pony in a surprised voice.

"I have no idea, I never heard of the legend and thus I have no idea if I can compare them to myself." I said truthfully.

"If we get the chance, I'll be sure to fill you in. I sure you would find it very interesting."

"So, are you going to tell me your name or am I going to be kept in the dark?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Name's Poison Spectre, I'm an Enforcer for The Black Hooves." she said. "We don't have much longer till we get to the place we're going. Then you'll be able to meet our leader."

"Sounds like fun." I say in a sarcastic voice as I continued to follow Poison Spectre into the sewer.

* * *

Princess Celestia let lose a grunt of displease once she received the new that Zhane had escaped from the guards and was now on the loose. It was one thing to have a monster running around but another to have a murderer stalking her subjects. She would find him at all costs and make sure that he was detained.

There was a knock at her chamber door, must be a guard bring information on what had happened.

"Come in." she said softly as she watched the door open until it revealed the pony standing behind it as her sister.

"Dear sister." Luna began. "We believe that we are in more danger than thou thinks." she said.

Celestia frowned slightly. The mere sound of her sister using the old tongue saddened her and reminded her of the mistake she had made long ago. For now, she ignored it and continued the conversation.

"No need to worry little sister. Zhane is a human that possess no magic powers unlike his kin that once inhabited the north."

"You are wrong dear sister!" shouted Luna in an uproar. "He used magic as his means of escape. Not just any magic either, this magic felt dark, so dark that we recognize who owns the magic. It is the one devoid of all light, the very demon that took control of us as we became Nightmare Moon."

Celestia gasped in surprise. This new development was shocking to say the least. On top of the other information about Zhane, this finally tipped the scales.

"This is not good little sister." Celestia said as she looked towards Luna with a grimace. "Before he escaped, I learned some very disturbing news from Zhane himself. He told me that he killed things for a living, that's why he did that to those guards."

"He was the one that cut off Stone Cutter's wing?" asked Luna with a look of unbelief in her eyes.

"I'm afraid so little sister." Celestia said with a look of sadness. "However, there's one more thing I find disturbing about Zhane."

Luna looked at her sister with interest.

"What would that be dear sister?"

"All the humans are supposed to be gone. They were killed by something that must have wielded great power. Knowing Captain Agliss and Captain Yamta, they probably went down fighting." Celestia said with a slight laugh.

"We should go investigate if thou's curiosity seeks answers dear sister." said Luna and she smiled in a knowing way.

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"We need to deal with Zhane first. If all else fails, we will go to the Oasis and find something that could help us."

Celestia turned and began to write on a piece a paper on a desk nearby.

"Little sister, I need you to alert the town guard as well as the troops stationed in all major cities as well as Ponyville, that a dangerous creature has escaped captivity and is on the loose. Begin an immediate search of Canterlot and find Zhane at all costs."

"Of course dear sister." said Luna as she turned and walked out of her sister's chambers to alert the guards of her sister's plan.

Celestia herself continued to write on the piece of paper until the page was full. She then picked it up with her magic, rolled it up neatly, and tied a red ribbon around it. She then enveloped her magic around the letter and watched as it vanished. She hoped her student would get the letter in time, this is an important matter and Celestia feared for her safety as well as the other Elements.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 5 for Everypony. Enjoy!**

**In this chapter, I decided to throw in that last bit with Celestia and Luna just to add a bit more story to this story. One or two of the later chapters will be dedicated to the humans of Oasis and what happened to them.**

**This will be the last chapter for a while. The next chapter will go up on September 30th. The reason is that I am currently in the process of moving to a different state and everything has been quite hectic. I was barely able to push this chapter out before we had to pack up my computer. We move on Friday, we should be settled in early that week and once settled in, I will begin to write another chapter. **

**See everypony on the 30th**


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